THE CITY ABC BOOK

Like Stephen T. Johnson's Alphabet City (1995), this invites young viewers to spot letters of the alphabet in the large and small structures commonly visible on city streets. The difference is that Johnson's illustrations are awesomely photorealistic paintings, while Milich's actually are photographs—drab black-and-white ones, with the letterforms highlighted in garish red. The letters are a random mix of upper- and lowercase, and some are dependent on the visual cue to be visible at all. The "F,” for instance, uses two arms of a five-armed telephone pole, ductwork forming the "L" is really an upside down "T" with part of the cross-beam unpainted, and the "Q" is drawn over part of a bicycle lane symbol that, seen upside down, is a confusing tangle of painted lines. Still, as a playful way to stimulate any young child's powers of observation, the general premise is hard to beat; consider this as a viable but contrived second choice. (Picture book. 3-5)